“He was a loving son. Very talented and very level-headed, good natured and had no bad bone in his body”

Nicola Reay, mum

"I saw Joe was annoyed by this so he got up to go," Ms Vaughan said.

"He looked tired, bored and fed up, and looked like he wanted to go home.

"He walked out of my house and turned right."

In a statement Mr Firth said the last time he had seen his friend he was talking to Athena, the girl he would later kiss.

Joe walked about a mile-and-a-half back towards his home before he was hit on Woodham Lane by the oncoming taxi.

Mum Nicola Reay paid tribute to her son at the inquest.

"He was a loving son. Very talented and very level-headed, good natured and had no bad bone in his body," she said.

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AMBITION: Reay was working as a green keeper at a golf club whilst playing semi-pro for Woking

Taxi driver Wajahat Ali, 27, took to the witness box and recalled the moment he saw a black shape as something heavy hit the left side of his car – smashing the windscreen and breaking the nearside headlight.

"I was not sure what it was, but I thought a human might have hit my car," Mr Ali said.

Recording a narrative verdict, Mr Christopher Sutton-Mattocks said: "Joe Reay died as a result of injuries sustained in a road traffic collision when he inadvertently stepped out in front of a Vauxhall Zafira driven by Mr Ali.

"The time of the collision is important as it is not possible to say whether or not Mr Ali may have been on the telephone at the time of the collision. I have heard the evidence of Mr Ali that he was not, and there is no evidence to contradict that.

"Joe was clearly a remarkable young man, loved and respected by many. The sheer number of people who attended his funeral speaks volumes about him.

The talented footballer started work as a green keeper at a golf club during his road to recovery, with ambitions to play semi-professionally with Woking Football Club where his father, Kelvin, is the director.